lifeasmission

exploring the mystery of life and mission as one and the same

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    Lots of People in Hell Have Perfect Doctrine

    September 26th, 2008 · 2 Comments

    I was listening the other day to a message given by a teaching pastor that I respect.  He was teaching on baptism, specifically whether or not aspiring members needed to share the official doctrinal stance of the church before being accepted as members.  Rather than addressing that question directly, he decided to take a round-about [...]

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    Tags: God · church · culture · doctrine · hell · love · marriage · preaching/teaching · relationships

    Truth Be Told, I am Scared to Death to Live in the Suburbs

    July 12th, 2008 · 6 Comments

    Update: Just after I posted this, I happened to come across a few relevant posts on this subject.  Be sure to check out David Fitch’s - “The Middle In: The Unique Missional Opportunity,” and Joe Thorn’s, “I Love the Suburbs” on a brand new blog about the gospel in the suburban context, SubText.
    I hear people [...]

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    Tags: consumerism · culture · decisions · individualism · living hope · memphis · spiritual formation · suburban · urban

    What is Missional?

    June 23rd, 2008 · 10 Comments

    This blog post is part of a SynchroBlog - below you will see the names of about 50 folks who are all posting today on the question, “What is Missional?” This is an effort launched by Rick Meigs to try and help people get a handle on where others are coming from when they [...]

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    Tags: christendom · church · community · culture · gospel · missional · spiritual formation · theology

    Chicago and Seeding Missional Communities

    January 7th, 2008 · 7 Comments

    I got to spend this past weekend in Chicago.  I was there for a few reasons.  I got to visit my cousin Gwen and her fiance Rob - here’s us in the Bean at Millennium park.
    (more Chicago pics here)
    I was attending a mini-seminar on “Seeding Missional Communities” with David Fitch and others at Life [...]

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    Tags: christendom · church · community · culture · leadership · preaching/teaching · spiritual formation

    Suburban Discontent/Suburban Oppression

    November 15th, 2007 · 1 Comment

    My friend Todd Hiestand recently posted, A Holy (Suburban) Discontent.  It is partly a review of Tim Keel’s, Intuitive Leadership, and partly a reflection on the trappings of the suburban life style - something I have been feeling all too painfully since moving back from LA.

    One of the most ironic parts of the post [...]

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    Tags: articles · church · community · culture · midwest · spiritual formation · suburban · youth · youth ministry

    Walter Brueggemann’s 19 Theses

    November 9th, 2007 · No Comments

    This is a bit old by now, but I am just running across it.  Taken from the 2004 Emergent Theolgical Conversation, these are 19 theses from Dr. Walter Brueggemann which, in concise fashion, sum up the grand scope of the “cultural problem” for the church in the United States.  These 19 theses, especially number 12, [...]

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    Tags: consumerism · culture · modernity · narrative theology · theology · western culture

    The Church and Cultural Relevance

    November 1st, 2007 · No Comments

    My friend Wess has posted an introductory piece on his blog entitled, “Church in Mission: The Problem with Being Relevant.”  He shares some initial background to the topic and is planning on offering a few more posts on the topic.  Though I am jealous that he beat me to it :), if you’re interested in [...]

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    Tags: blogging · capitalism · culture

    A Great Beginning, but…

    October 18th, 2007 · 1 Comment

    I came across this blog post today entitled, “Willow Creek Repents?” and I was immediately reminded of something I wrote a while back where I said that one characteristic of missional churches is their willingness to repent for the things they have said and done which they come to realize were off the mark. [...]

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    Tags: Jesus · christendom · church · community · consumerism · culture · individualism · kingdom · missional · spiritual formation · theology

    Emerging From What?

    August 1st, 2007 · 7 Comments

    I have been going crazy trying to figure out how to write a post in response to all the great conversation that was going on in the comments of this last post. Thanks Josh and Andy for having such a thoughtful and even-handed discussion. I was going crazy because I was trying to [...]

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    Tags: christendom · church · colonialism · community · culture · emerging · modernity · postmodernity · western culture

    The Theology of Linkin Park

    July 19th, 2007 · 2 Comments

    I don’t know a ton about Linkin Park, but they are a band whose name keeps coming up in various spheres of my life.  I know my brother Adam is a fan and the other day my friend JR (that’s right, “there are 2 of them,” [SB]!) was showing me one of their videos on his oh [...]

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    Tags: culture · postmodernity · songs · theology · video · youth